| State: | Florida |
| District Number: | 1 |
| Image Width: | |
| Image Caption: | Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 |
| Representative: | Matt Gaetz |
| Party: | Republican |
| Residence: | Niceville |
| English Area: | 4,759[1] |
| Distribution Ref: | [2] |
| Percent Urban: | 82.11 |
| Percent Rural: | 17.89 |
| Population: | 789,347[3] |
| Population Year: | 2022 |
| Median Income: | $71,302 |
| Percent White: | 69.4 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 7.7 |
| Percent Black: | 12.8 |
| Percent Asian: | 2.7 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 6.1 |
| Percent Other Race: | 1.2 |
| Cpvi: | R+19[4] |
Florida's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida, covering the state's western Panhandle. It includes all of Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa counties, and portions of Walton county. The district is anchored in Pensacola and also includes the large military bedroom communities and tourist destinations of Navarre and Fort Walton Beach and stretches along the Emerald Coast. The district is currently represented by Republican Matt Gaetz. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+19, it is the most Republican district in Florida.[4]
The district encompasses the western part of the Florida Panhandle, in the extreme western portion of the state, stretching from Pensacola and the Alabama border east to include Walton, Holmes, and Washington counties.
Most of the territory now in the 1st District had been the 3rd District from 1903 to 1963; however, it has been numbered as the 1st District since then. It cast aside its Democratic roots far sooner than most of the other areas of the state. It has not supported a Democrat for president since John F. Kennedy in 1960. In 1964, Republican Barry Goldwater carried the district by such a large margin that it nearly pushed Florida's electoral votes into the Republican column. It has continued to vote for Republicans by very wide margins, with the only exception being 1976, where Gerald Ford won a narrow 50–49 victory over Jimmy Carter. Nonetheless, it usually continued to elect conservative Democrats at the state and local level, even in years when Republican presidential candidates won the district handily. Well into the 1980s, the district's congressmen and state lawmakers only faced "sacrificial lamb" Republican challengers on the occasions they faced any opposition at all. For example, Democratic incumbent Earl Hutto was unopposed for reelection in 1984 even as Ronald Reagan won the district with over 70 percent of the vote. As late as 1992, Democratic senator Bob Graham easily carried the district with 54 percent of the vote—more than double Bill Clinton's total in the district.
This changed with the Republican Revolution of 1994. That year, Joe Scarborough became the first Republican to represent the Panhandle since Reconstruction. This change was more a result of eight-term incumbent Hutto retiring than of a Republican upsurge. It had been taken for granted that Hutto would be succeeded by a Republican once he retired, particularly after he was nearly defeated in 1990 and 1992. Republicans had also swept most of the district's overlapping state legislative seats. It is currently considered the most Republican district in Florida, and no Democratic candidate has won more than 40 percent of the vote since Hutto's retirement. John McCain received 67% of the vote in this district in 2008, and Mitt Romney and Donald Trump respectively carried it by similar margins in 2012 and 2016.
The district's conservatism is not limited to national politics. Since 1994, Republicans have dominated elections at the state and local levels. Graham is the last Democrat to have won it in a statewide race. In much of the district, there are now no elected Democrats above the county level.
The area comprising the 1st District has maintained a large military presence ever since John Quincy Adams persuaded Spain to sell Florida to the United States in 1819, in part to gain a deepwater port at Pensacola. The U.S. Air Force also has a large presence in Eglin Air Force Base, which is economically important to the district. Slightly under 14,000 people are employed at the base, which is one of the largest air bases in the world and has approximately 100000sqmi of airspace stretching over the Gulf of Mexico to the Florida Keys. Hurlburt Field is an auxiliary field at Eglin AFB and is the location of the Air Force Special Operations Command. Eglin AFB spreads over three counties. Pensacola Naval Air Station was the first Navy base devoted to the specific purpose of aviation, and is the home of the Blue Angels. Saufley Field, used for training, is slightly north of Pensacola NAS.
A large number of veterans who retire relocate to this district. Tourism, particularly in Navarre, Pensacola Beach, and Destin, is a major economic activity.
| Election results from statewide races | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Results | |
| 1992 | President | Bush 51.2 - 25.7% | |
| Senator | Graham 54.5 - 45.5% | ||
| 1994 | Senator | Mack 80.9 - 19.1% | |
| Governor | Bush 60.8 - 39.2% | ||
| Secretary of State | Mortham 64.1 - 35.9% | ||
| Attorney General | Ferro 52.8 - 47.2% | ||
| Comptroller | Milligan 59.1 - 40.9% | ||
| Treasurer | Ireland 59.7 - 40.3% | ||
| Education Commissioner | Brogan 64.1 - 35.9% | ||
| Agriculture Commissioner | Smith 55.6 - 44.4% | ||
| 1996 | President | Dole 59.2 - 31.0% | |
| 1998 | Senator | Crist 51.6 - 48.4% | |
| Governor | Bush 71.4 - 28.6% | ||
| Secretary of State | Harris 65.0 - 35.0% | ||
| Attorney General | Bludworth 57.0 - 43.0% | ||
| Comptroller | Milligan 71.1 - 28.9% | ||
| Treasurer | Ireland 58.8 - 41.2% | ||
| Education Commissioner | Gallagher 67.2 - 32.8% | ||
| Agriculture Commissioner | Faircloth 54.7 - 45.3% | ||
| 2000 | President | Bush 67.7 - 29.8% | |
| Senator | McCollum 64.7 - 35.3% | ||
| Treasurer | Gallagher 73.1 - 26.9% | ||
| Education Commissioner | Crist 67.6 - 32.4% | ||
| 2004 | President | Bush 72 - 28% | |
| 2008 | President | McCain 67 - 32% | |
| 2012 | President | Romney 68.5 - 30.1% | |
| 2016 | President | Trump 67.5 - 28.2% | |
| 2020 | President | Trump 65.9 - 32.4% | |
| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of February 20, 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Voters | Percentage | ||
| Republican | 291,351 | 53.80% | ||
| Democratic | 119,305 | 22.03% | ||
| No Party Affiliation | 116,371 | 21.49% | ||
| County | Seat | Population | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Escambia | Pensacola | 326,928 | |
| 91 | Okaloosa | Crestview | 218,464 | |
| 113 | Santa Rosa | Milton | 203,162 | |
| 131 | Walton | DeFuniak Springs | 86,354 |
| Member | Party | Years | Cong ress | Electoral history | District location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District created March 4, 1875 | ||||||||
| align=left | William J. Purman | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877 | Elected in 1874. Lost re-election. | 1875-1883 | ||
Robert H. M. Davidson | Democratic | March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1891 | Elected in 1876. Re-elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Re-elected in 1882. Re-elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. Lost re-election. | |||||
| 1883-1893 | ||||||||
Stephen R. Mallory | Democratic | March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895 | Elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Retired. | |||||
| 1893-1903 | ||||||||
Stephen M. Sparkman | Democratic | March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1917 | Elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Retired. | |||||
| 1903-1913 | ||||||||
| 1913-1933 | ||||||||
| align=left | Herbert J. Drane | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1933 | Elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Lost renomination. | |||
J. Hardin Peterson | Democratic | March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1951 | Elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Retired. | 1933-1943 | ||||
| 1943-1953 | ||||||||
| align=left | Chester B. McMullen | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953 | Elected in 1950. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Courtney W. Campbell | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955 | Elected in 1952. Lost re-election. | 1953-1963 | ||
| align=left | William C. Cramer | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1963 | Elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Redistricted to the . | |||
Bob Sikes | Democratic | January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1979 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Retired. | 1963-1973 | ||||
| 1973-1983 | ||||||||
Earl Hutto | Democratic | January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1995 | Elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Retired. | |||||
| 1983-1993 | ||||||||
| 1993-2003 | ||||||||
| align=left | Joe Scarborough | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1995 – September 5, 2001 | Elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Resigned. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | September 5, 2001 – October 16, 2001 | ||||||
Jeff Miller | Republican | October 16, 2001 – January 3, 2017 | Elected to finish Scarborough's term. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Retired. | |||||
| 2003-2013 | ||||||||
| 2013–2023 | ||||||||
Matt Gaetz | Republican | January 3, 2017 – present | Elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. | |||||
| 2023–present | ||||||||
See main article: article and 2001 Florida's 1st congressional district special election.